Giants get OF Tauchman from Yankees

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants used their bullpen depth to shore up their outfield corps on Tuesday, acquiring Mike Tauchman from the Yankees in exchange for left-handed reliever Wandy Peralta and a player to be named later.

Tauchman will give the Giants another left-handed-hitting outfielder while Mike Yastrzemski nurses a left oblique strain, but manager Gabe Kapler said he viewed the acquisition as more of a “long-term, high-quality add” rather than a move that was made in response to Yastrzemski’s injury. Yastrzemski is expected to miss five to six games, but the Giants are optimistic he’ll be able to avoid a stint on the injured list.

Tauchman, 30, had been used as a reserve outfielder and pinch-runner for the Yankees this season, batting .214 (3-for-14) with one double and one walk in 11 games. His best season came in 2019, when he hit .277 with an .865 OPS and 13 home runs over 87 games.

In five Major League seasons with the Rockies and Yankees, Tauchman has slashed .250/.341/.411 with 13 homers and 63 RBIs over 193 games. He is out of Minor League options and is expected to be added to the Giants’ 26-man roster once he arrives in San Francisco ahead of Wednesday night’s series finale against the Rockies.

“The plate discipline really stands out,” Kapler said. “I had a chance to talk to [Yankees manager] Aaron Boone earlier and just kind of get his perspective. He talked about how Mike is a guy who can really play all three outfield positions. He noted that he really stands out in center and left. And then we also discussed his ability to look over the baseball, to make good swing decisions, to really grind in the batter’s box.

“Those were things that we identified in Mike that definitely led to this acquisition. He provides a really good at-bat, and I think we can all look back to ‘19 and see what a good baseball player he was in general.”

President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said he’s had his eye on Tauchman since Zaidi joined the Giants in November 2018. With LaMonte Wade Jr. on the IL with an oblique strain, Zaidi said he wanted to acquire another left-handed hitter who could start in center field against right-handed pitching. Austin Slater has started 13 of the Giants’ first 23 games in center, but he entered Tuesday with a .572 OPS against righties, compared to .907 OPS against lefties.

“Slater and [Mauricio] Dubόn have done a great job there, but to just have a true sort of center fielder, a left-handed bat, as another piece of the puzzle gives Kap the option to create some different looks in the lineup,” Zaidi said.

Peralta, 29, was claimed off waivers from the Reds in 2019 and logged a 3.70 ERA over 43 games with the Giants. He had been working his way into more of a high-leverage role this season and converted two saves in his first 10 appearances of the year, but the Giants already have three other lefties -- Jake McGee, José Álvarez and Caleb Baragar -- in their bullpen. Another southpaw, Jarlín García, landed on the IL with a groin strain over the weekend, but the Giants also have Sam Selman and Conner Menez on their 40-man roster and could turn to them if they want to expand their left-handed relief options.

“We’re trading from a position of strength,” Zaidi said. “We’re really deep with left-handed relievers, and Wandy really did a terrific job for us over the last couple of years. It was not easy to trade him. You look at the progression from his time in Cincinnati to just the performance he had with us, pitching in some big spots, too.”

Switch-hitting outfielder Skye Bolt was recalled from the alternate training site to take Peralta’s spot on the 26-man roster and was expected to be available against the Rockies on Tuesday night.